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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Chefs and Plumbers

Trades in America are largely devalued, however, as big an advocate as I am of higher education, not every one is suited for white collar jobs and someone has to do the plumbing. Clerks, drivers, and service jobs cannot all be filled with college students and immigrants, and I am not sure such a world would be desirable. And these jobs cannot be outsourced or automated.In New York City, complaints have been made about taxi drivers for time immemorial. The problem is that this job there is no serious training for this job. The test for a taxi license is laughable - virtually anyone that can drive can get a license. In London, for example, a cabdriver candidate must complete two years of full-time study. I am fascinated by Les Compagnons, French trade guilds dating back to the Middle Ages. See a New York Times article on the Compagnons here.Many find the level of craftsmanship in the New York deplorable - stories abound regarding the poor workmanship in jobs done. Many have horror stories of their own. The problem is that many individuals doing blue collar work are not trained or poorly trained. The workers are not professionals, as is the case with many waiters, where the work is done by those who are pursuing other life goals, careers or perhaps feel they have no better options.None of this is the case at the French Culinary Institute, located in SoHo at 462 Broadway. This extraordinary school provides an intense training in the culinary arts on a par with schools in Europe - many of the faculty and deans are European trained, renowned chefs. The school offers a very broad spectrum of classes - see a short video overview of the school at their website here.Employment needs are often cyclical. As need develops for a given skill set, people train for those opportunities. Often, an over supply develops with shortages in other fields. I often speculated that skill tradespeople may see their time come in a world where manual labor is looked down upon and everyone trains for white collar work. I have often joked that in a world full of web developers, plumbers may rule.I love the scene in the film Moonstruck, where we have revenge of the tradesman. A couple, needing bathroom work done and lacking knowledge about construction, are persuaded by contractor Cosmo Castorini to buy the most expensive solution:

"There are three kinds of pipe. There's aluminum, which is garbage. There's bronze, which is pretty good, unless something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong. Then, there's copper, which is the only pipe I use. It costs money. It costs money because it saves money."

The future of technology rapidly evolves - who knows what future generations will need and where the jobs may lie? But most likely, there will always be a need for chefs and plumbers :)

Photo Note: This shot was taken on Grand Street where French Culinary students are on a break from classes. The site of so many chefs in classic white uniforms on this street is quite startling. The school also runs a highly regarded restaurant - L'Ecole, located at street level at the same address.

3 comments:

Mary
said...

This school forced out my company, which employed about 50 skilled and non-skilled bookbinders. To make room for the school, the landlord would not renew our lease, so we moved to Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, where we were forced out after about fifteen years to make way for expensive condos. On to Jersey City for about five years, and then to Patterson... All in the name of progress.

Sadly, Mary, that's the "new" New York in a nutshell: all greed, narcissism, and pretentious high gloss. I've lived here 40 years, and no longer recognize the city I once loved with all my heart and soul.